Where do you rank Domantas Sabonis this year?

[RRR3]

Yea just like Khris Middleton is a championship caliber player

Tell me how Middleton can be exploited in the playoffs.

[beasted]

lol lets not overrate Davis.

So trading Davis for Sabonis improves the Lakers chances?

[elementally morale]

So trading Davis for Sabonis improves the Lakers chances?

Well...

[FultzNationRISE]

So trading Davis for Sabonis improves the Lakers chances?

IMMENSELY.

Sabonis actually matches Lebron's energy, skill, and BBIQ. They'd fit terrific together.

AD can make an impact sometimes but he doesnt consistently have the attitude to go kick ass, and I think it's in part beause he doesnt really have any go-to skill on offense that he can rely on from game to game. Is he an outside shooter, is he a post player, is he a facilitator, is he a finisher? It sort of seems to vary just by almost random chance, or whatever opportunities the game ends up giving him. He kinda just goes out and waits to see if the game gives him opportunities, which sometimes it does and his numbers look good, and then sometimes it doesnt. But there's never really any definable aspect it feels like he's going out to take command of offensively.

His reputation benefits from the fact fans tend to remember the big games, and forget about all the no-shows. But he's not a pillar. You dont know what youre gonna get from him in a given game.

Meanwhile the two man game between Lebron and Domas would be off the charts. If you swapped AD and Sabonis right now (I know it's after the deadline so you cant) I honestly dont think any team but the Nuggets could stop the Lakers. They would instantly be the second best team in the league.

[zeerghit]

You can’t win with Sabonis but he’s somehow top 10. Typical ISH

didint he played with broken hand or smth last season?

[Duffy Pratt]

You can win with Embiid. He fits the modern NBA. Sabonis doesnt. Sabonis plays awful defense and doesn’t stretch the floor and isn’t a dominant low post scorer. Horrendous combination. Comparing him to Jokic is crazy. Jokic is a dominant low post scorer who stretches the floor. He’s basically flawless on offense. Sabonis was easily taken out of the offense by the Warriors defense in the playoffs. There’s 30 guys I’d rather have easily.

The way you decide whether you can win with someone is by looking at whether they have won. Here’s last year’s all NBA team:

F: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

F: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

C: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

G: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

G: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

SECOND TEAM

F: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat

F: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics

C: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

G: Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers

G: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

THIRD TEAM

F: Julius Randle, New York Knicks

F: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

C: Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings

G: De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings

G: Damian Lillard. Portland

Of these, which surely includes many of the top 10 players, Giannis, Joker, Curry, and LeBron have won. At this point, you can’t win with any of the others. That is, unless the point you think you are making is that no team will ever be able to win with Sabonis as a starting center. If that;s your point, it’s just absurd. He is a better defender than you give him credit for, the best rebounder in the game, an excellent facilitator, and extremely consistent. Of the teams in the West, I think Sacramento and Phoenix probably have the best chance against the Nuggets, and that’s largely because of Sabonis.